Veteran joined Merchant Marine during World War II to 'help save the country’

World War II veteran Elmo Berthelot is seen at his home in Ocala on April 18. Berthelot signed up for the service the day Pearl Harbor was attacked.

Jacqui Janetzko/Star-Banner

By Andy FillmoreCorrespondent

Published: Sunday, May 5, 2013 at 8:35 p.m.

Last Modified: Sunday, May 5, 2013 at 8:35 p.m.

Elmore "Elmo" Berthelot joined the Merchant Marine at age 16. Just months after signing up, he was on the high seas en route to England and France with troops and critical supplies, vulnerable to enemy attack during World War II.

“I wanted to see the world and help save the country. I saw Big Ben,” said Berthelot, 85, in an interview at the Ocala Palms home he shares with his wife of 21 years, Judy Berthelot.

The couple, who met at a dance, have lived at the community since 1994.

“I had to have my mother sign for me to join the Merchant Marine because I was age 16,” Berthelot said. “I served on a tanker ship and the Liberty Ship S.S. Silo. We were sitting ducks with no armor and a pop gun on the rear of the ship.”

According to Morris Harvey of Dunnellon, national president of the American Merchant Marine Veterans Association, the ships transporting men and material overseas manned by Merchant Mariners during the war typically had 3- and 4-inch guns in the front and rear, or had sawed-up telephone poles set up as fake cannons.

“At least the guns on the Liberty ships discouraged enemy ships from firing on them. It made them instead use torpedoes,” Harvey said.

Berthelot said the ships he served on sailed to Europe via the frigid North Atlantic, transporting troops and fuel.

“We carried soldiers in the cargo hold and they were sick a lot. I was also part of a convoy through the English Channel, which included three T-2 tankers full of fuel. The two ships ahead of ours hit mines and exploded,” Berthelot said. “We had about 50 men on our ship. The crews of both other ships were lost in the explosions.”

After World War II, Berthelot had a career in electrical work that included wiring lightning rods on bridges and towers as tall as 1,000 feet.

“I wired lighting rods on the chimneys of the Greater New Orleans Bridge, which stood about 525-feet tall and had a little sway,” Berthelot said, making a sweeping motion with his arms.

“I also helped lay communication cable in the Mississippi River,” he said.

Berthelot, who was born Nov. 27, 1927, in Edgard, La., near the Mississippi River, grew up catching river shrimp and crawfish. As a grown man, his co-workers gave him the nickname “Bougalee,” tied to his Cajun heritage.

“Whenever there was a difficult job, they would say, ‘Let Boug do it,’” he said.

Berthelot was a 60-year member of the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers.

In October 2009, he was onboard the Ocala Honor Flight that took veterans to visit the Arlington National Cemetery and World War II and Korean War monuments in Washington.

“The Honor Flight was wonderful. We saw the changing of the guard at Arlington National Cemetery, and the statues of the soldiers at the Korean War memorial looked real,” he said.

Judy Berthelot said she has worked for years to secure Veterans Administration benefits for her husband.

Harvey explained that many Merchant Mariners were granted veterans’ benefits about four decades after their heroic service.

“In 1988, those who served in the Merchant Marine were given veteran status through the Coast Guard, which served as the military entity to issue a DD-214 (discharge document),” Harvey said.

“We are proud of my dad’s service,” said Elmo Berthelot’s daughter, Daphne Ramirez, of New Orleans.

<p>Elmore "Elmo" Berthelot joined the Merchant Marine at age 16. Just months after signing up, he was on the high seas en route to England and France with troops and critical supplies, vulnerable to enemy attack during World War II.</p><p>“I wanted to see the world and help save the country. I saw Big Ben,” said Berthelot, 85, in an interview at the Ocala Palms home he shares with his wife of 21 years, Judy Berthelot.</p><p>The couple, who met at a dance, have lived at the community since 1994.</p><p>“I had to have my mother sign for me to join the Merchant Marine because I was age 16,” Berthelot said. “I served on a tanker ship and the Liberty Ship S.S. Silo. We were sitting ducks with no armor and a pop gun on the rear of the ship.”</p><p>According to Morris Harvey of Dunnellon, national president of the American Merchant Marine Veterans Association, the ships transporting men and material overseas manned by Merchant Mariners during the war typically had 3- and 4-inch guns in the front and rear, or had sawed-up telephone poles set up as fake cannons.</p><p>“At least the guns on the Liberty ships discouraged enemy ships from firing on them. It made them instead use torpedoes,” Harvey said.</p><p>Berthelot said the ships he served on sailed to Europe via the frigid North Atlantic, transporting troops and fuel.</p><p>“We carried soldiers in the cargo hold and they were sick a lot. I was also part of a convoy through the English Channel, which included three T-2 tankers full of fuel. The two ships ahead of ours hit mines and exploded,” Berthelot said. “We had about 50 men on our ship. The crews of both other ships were lost in the explosions.”</p><p>After World War II, Berthelot had a career in electrical work that included wiring lightning rods on bridges and towers as tall as 1,000 feet.</p><p>“I wired lighting rods on the chimneys of the Greater New Orleans Bridge, which stood about 525-feet tall and had a little sway,” Berthelot said, making a sweeping motion with his arms.</p><p>“I also helped lay communication cable in the Mississippi River,” he said.</p><p>Berthelot, who was born Nov. 27, 1927, in Edgard, La., near the Mississippi River, grew up catching river shrimp and crawfish. As a grown man, his co-workers gave him the nickname “Bougalee,” tied to his Cajun heritage.</p><p>“Whenever there was a difficult job, they would say, 'Let Boug do it,'” he said.</p><p>Berthelot was a 60-year member of the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers.</p><p>In October 2009, he was onboard the Ocala Honor Flight that took veterans to visit the Arlington National Cemetery and World War II and Korean War monuments in Washington.</p><p>“The Honor Flight was wonderful. We saw the changing of the guard at Arlington National Cemetery, and the statues of the soldiers at the Korean War memorial looked real,” he said.</p><p>Judy Berthelot said she has worked for years to secure Veterans Administration benefits for her husband.</p><p>Harvey explained that many Merchant Mariners were granted veterans' benefits about four decades after their heroic service.</p><p>“In 1988, those who served in the Merchant Marine were given veteran status through the Coast Guard, which served as the military entity to issue a DD-214 (discharge document),” Harvey said.</p><p>“We are proud of my dad's service,” said Elmo Berthelot's daughter, Daphne Ramirez, of New Orleans.</p>